Short answer: Ozempic (semaglutide) is a once-weekly GLP-1 injection for adults with type 2 diabetes. Jardiance (empagliflozin) is a once-daily SGLT2 tablet approved for type 2 diabetes from age 10, and also for heart failure and chronic kidney disease with or without diabetes.12 No trial in either label compares them; each reports its own placebo-controlled trials.
| Ozempic (semaglutide) | Jardiance (empagliflozin) | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | GLP-1 receptor agonist1 | SGLT2 inhibitor2 |
| Form | Pen, injected under the skin once a week1 | Tablet, 10 mg or 25 mg, once a day in the morning2 |
| Approved for | Blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes; lowering heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death in those with heart disease; lowering kidney decline in those with chronic kidney disease1 | Heart failure; chronic kidney disease; lowering cardiovascular death in type 2 diabetes with heart disease; blood sugar in type 2 diabetes from age 102 |
| Label dosing | 0.25 mg weekly for 4 weeks, then 0.5 mg; may go to 1 mg and then 2 mg1 | 10 mg daily; for blood sugar may go to 25 mg2 |
| Half-life | about 7 days1 | About 12.4 hours2 |
| Kidney rules | No dose change for kidney impairment1 | Not for blood sugar alone if eGFR is under 30; trials did not enroll eGFR under 20 or dialysis2 |
| Boxed warning | Thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodents1 | None2 |
| On its own vs placebo | 30 weeks: HbA1c −1.4 (0.5 mg) and −1.6 (1 mg) vs −0.11 | 24 weeks: HbA1c −0.7 (10 mg) and −0.8 (25 mg) vs +0.12 |
| Most common side effects | Nausea 15.8% (0.5 mg) and 20.3% (1 mg) vs 6.1% on placebo1 | Female genital yeast infections 5.4% (10 mg) and 6.4% (25 mg) vs 1.5%; urinary tract infections 9.3% and 7.6% vs 7.6%2 |
| Missed dose | Take within 5 days; after that, skip it1 | Take as soon as possible; do not double the next dose2 |
They have not been tested against each other in these labels. In Ozempic's 30-week trial of 388 adults on diet and exercise alone, HbA1c fell 1.4 points on 0.5 mg and 1.6 points on 1 mg vs 0.1 on placebo, from a starting level of about 8.1%.1 In Jardiance's 24-week trial of 986 adults, HbA1c fell 0.7 points on 10 mg and 0.8 on 25 mg vs a 0.1 rise on placebo, from 7.9%.2
These numbers come from separate placebo-controlled trials with different people, lengths and methods, so they are not a head-to-head comparison. Weight also fell in both trials: 3.8 to 4.7 kg vs 1.2 kg on placebo with Ozempic, and 2.8% to 3.2% vs 0.4% with Jardiance.12
These numbers come from separate placebo-controlled trials with different people, lengths and methods, so they are not a head-to-head comparison. The kidney trials also used different endpoints (50% vs 40% eGFR drop). Jardiance is also approved for heart failure, which Ozempic is not.21
Neither label rules it out. In the FLOW trial, 16% of people were already taking an SGLT2 inhibitor; the Ozempic label says the kidney benefit was not evident in that group, but there were few events in it.1 Whether to combine them is a decision for you and your prescriber.
More detail: Ozempic side effects, Jardiance side effects, the Ozempic and Jardiance dosing schedules, what to do if you miss an Ozempic dose or miss a Jardiance dose, how to store Ozempic, and the Semaglutide guide.